Part-Time Jobs in Nottingham: Your Guide to University Roles
Nottingham is one of the UK's most prominent university cities, home to two large institutions: the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University (NTU). Between them, they employ thousands of people across teaching, research, administration and professional services. If you are looking for part-time jobs in Nottingham and you want something more structured than casual retail or hospitality work, university employment is well worth exploring. Roles are advertised regularly, many are genuinely part-time from the outset, and the sector tends to offer good terms and conditions compared with other local employers.
This guide covers the types of part-time roles available, what they typically pay, how hiring works in UK higher education, and practical advice for getting your application noticed.
What Kinds of Part-Time Roles Do Nottingham Universities Offer?
Both the University of Nottingham and NTU advertise part-time positions across a wide range of job families. They do not all require a degree or academic background. Here are the main categories to know about.
Teaching and Academic Roles
Part-time teaching in UK universities usually comes under one of two arrangements:
- Hourly paid or sessional lecturer posts: You are paid for the hours you teach, often including preparation and marking. These roles suit people with subject expertise who cannot commit to a full-time contract.
- Fixed-term fractional contracts: A 0.5 or 0.6 full-time equivalent (FTE) post, meaning you work two or three days a week on a salaried basis. These appear regularly in departments across both universities.
Subjects with high student numbers, such as nursing, business, law, education and computing, tend to generate the most part-time teaching vacancies. Browse teaching jobs on UniJobs to see what is currently live in the East Midlands.
Research Roles
Research assistant and research associate posts are frequently offered on part-time or flexible contracts, particularly when a grant covers only a portion of a full-time salary. These roles can be a practical way in for early-career researchers who want to build their CV while managing other commitments.
If you have a relevant postgraduate qualification or laboratory skills, it is worth checking research jobs regularly. Nottingham has particular research strength in areas including pharmaceutical science, engineering, life sciences and digital humanities.
For more detail on what research assistant work involves day to day, see the research assistant jobs guide.
Professional Services Roles
This is the broadest category and arguably the most accessible for people without an academic background. Professional services covers:
- Administration: Faculty administrators, programme coordinators, timetabling officers and departmental assistants. Many posts are 0.6 to 0.8 FTE.
- Student-facing services: Wellbeing advisers, disability support officers, accommodation staff and careers advisers. These roles often suit people with backgrounds in health, social care or guidance work.
- Library and information services: Library assistants and information specialists. Part-time library roles come up fairly consistently at both Nottingham institutions.
- IT and digital: Helpdesk technicians, learning technologists and digital content roles. These can be part-time, particularly in support functions.
- Facilities and estates: Portering, cleaning, catering and security. Shift-based work makes these naturally part-time-friendly.
- Finance and HR: Both universities employ large teams, and part-time options appear in payroll, HR administration and finance support.
Browse professional services jobs to see current openings.
Exam Invigilator and Casual Roles
Both Nottingham universities recruit exam invigilators each year, typically for the January and May or June exam periods. These roles are casual, paid hourly and require no specialist qualifications, though you will need to be reliable and comfortable following strict protocols. They are an excellent way to get a foot in the door with a university employer.
What Do Part-Time University Jobs in Nottingham Pay?
Pay in UK universities is set by a graded pay spine, and most institutions publish their pay scales on their websites. General patterns to be aware of:
- Grade 3 to 4 (administrative support, library assistants, catering): typically £12 to £15 per hour, or a pro-rata salary of roughly £23,000 to £28,000 full-time equivalent. Part-time pay is calculated proportionally.
- Grade 5 to 6 (senior administrators, technicians, some research roles): roughly £28,000 to £35,000 FTE, pro-rata for part-time hours.
- Grade 7 and above (specialist professional services, research fellows, lecturers): from around £36,000 FTE upwards. See the grade 7 explainer for more on what this level means in practice.
- Hourly paid teaching: rates vary between institutions. Both Nottingham universities publish their hourly rates, which typically include an element for preparation and assessment, not just contact hours.
All university employees are entitled to pension contributions. Most pre-92 universities (like the University of Nottingham) use the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), while NTU and other post-92 institutions typically use the Teachers' Pension Scheme or a local government equivalent, depending on the role. This is a genuine benefit over many private sector part-time jobs.
Annual leave entitlement for salaried staff is also pro-rated for part-time workers, and universities are generally required to include bank holidays within your allocation.
How Hiring Works in UK Higher Education
University recruitment tends to be more structured than in many other sectors. Here is what to expect:
- Applications are submitted through an online portal. Both Nottingham universities use their own systems. You will typically complete an application form rather than simply submitting a CV, though you may be asked to attach a CV as well.
- Shortlisting is done against a person specification. Read this carefully. Criteria are split into essential and desirable. Address each essential criterion explicitly in your supporting statement.
- Interviews often include a task. For professional services roles, you might be asked to complete an in-tray exercise, give a short presentation or sit a written test. For teaching roles, a micro-teach is common.
- References are taken seriously. Have two relevant referees ready, ideally from recent employment.
One thing that catches applicants out: university job adverts often close at midnight on the stated closing date, not 5pm. Missing the deadline is not something hiring teams can usually accommodate.
If you are uncertain about a role before applying, it is common practice in higher education to contact the named person on the advert for an informal conversation. See the guide on how to have an informal chat before applying for practical advice on how to approach this.
Where to Find Part-Time Jobs in Nottingham's Universities
Both institutions advertise their vacancies on their own websites, and it is worth bookmarking those pages. However, specialist job boards tend to aggregate university roles across the sector in one place, which saves time if you are keeping an eye on multiple employers.
You can search all academic and university jobs on UniJobs, filtering by location to narrow results to Nottingham. This covers roles at the University of Nottingham, NTU and other nearby institutions such as Nottingham College and De Montfort University in Leicester, which is within easy commuting distance.
Setting up a job alert is the most efficient approach. University posts are often competitive, and early applications tend to be stronger because candidates have more time to tailor their supporting statement carefully.
Is a University Part-Time Job Right for You?
University employment has genuine strengths as part-time work. The sector is generally stable, offers reasonable pay for administrative and support roles, and takes equality legislation seriously. Universities typically have formal policies on flexible working, and many advertise roles as open to job share from the outset.
That said, some things are worth knowing before you apply. Hiring can be slow. From advert to interview to offer, six to eight weeks is not unusual. For sessional or hourly paid teaching, work may not be consistent across the year, and summer can be quiet. Some departments rely heavily on short fixed-term contracts, so it is worth asking at interview whether there is a realistic prospect of extension or permanence.
If you are a current student at one of the Nottingham universities, check whether your institution has a student employment service. Both NTU and the University of Nottingham run internal schemes that place students in paid casual and part-time roles on campus, often in roles that are not advertised externally.
